Wednesday, June 22, 2016

One in a series of posts that will look at projects and programs that would receive funding from the potential sales tax ballot measure that Metro is considering.

What is it? The potential light rail line would be built in two phases: the first could run from Pioneer Boulevard in Artesia (and near the boundary with Cerritos) to a new station right-of-way just north of the Green Line that would be east of the 710 freeway. The second phase would continue north to Union Station.

Here is a technical study from last summer that looks at routes that have been studied thus far and recommends some (see above map) for further study as part of the project’s environmental review.

When would it be built? Under Metro’s revised spending plan, the Artesia-to-Green Line segment would break ground in 2022 with a projected completion date of 2028. The Green Line-to-Union Station segment would break ground in 2032 with a projected completion date of 2041. That’s six years earlier than envisioned in the original ballot measure spending plan.

Fun fact? The estimated weekday boardings for this project are very high, ranging from 43,000 to 75,000 for the six alignments. For sake of comparison, the Blue Line — Metro’s busiest light rail line — had an estimated 81,000 average weekday boardings in May.

Another fun fact? This project was originally included in the Measure R project list in 2008. The new ballot measure along with other sources greatly would expand on the $240 million from Measure R, thereby allowing this project — with an estimated cost of $3.8 billion to $4.6 billion (depending on the route) — to potentially be light rail.

Why is the project known as the West Santa Ana Branch Corridor? Because the portion of the route south of the Green Line would follow an old street car alignment known as the West Santa Ana Branch Corridor. The right-of-way continues all the way to Santa Ana in Orange County.

Metro is a Los Angeles County agency and would only build a project in the L.A. County portion of the alignment. Any decision to build a section between Santa Ana and Cerritos would need approvals and funding from the Orange County Transportation Authority.

Metro’s potential ballot measure calls for a half-cent sales tax increase and an extension of the existing Measure R sales tax. Here’s a previous post about the revised spending plan for the ballot measure.

Please visit theplan.metro.net for more info and use the hashtag #metroplan when discussing on social media. The Metro Board of Directors are scheduled to consider the spending plan and whether to put the ballot measure before voters at their June 23 meeting.